Agoura Hills dedicates open space

An 18.3-acre property was dedicated as open space for public use in Agoura Hills on Friday.

The land is adjacent to the newly constructed Yerba Buena Elementary School at the north end of Reyes Adobe Road.

The city and Las Virgenes Unified School District signed a joint-use agreement to preserve the land as open space.

The city contributed $1.6 million to the district's purchase of the school property and secured $747,000 in federal, state, and local grants to help with the purchase.

The school opened in April 2007 after a decade of planning. It replaces the previous school location, which was part of the Lindero Canyon Middle School campus. The middle school is being renovated and will take over the space that Yerba Buena occupied for many years.

Speakers at the ceremony Friday included county, city and school district officials as well as representatives of state and congressional lawmakers and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which helped the city secure funding.

The project showed cooperation between the city and school district "for the benefit of the community as a whole," City Manager Greg Ramirez said.

"We anticipate adding some sort of walking or hiking trail, but for the most part, it will involve passive use of the land," Assistant City Manager Nathan Hamburger said.